This invention relates to pudding products and, more particularly, to compositions and methods for preparing room temperature shelf-stable aseptic pudding products.
As is well known in the art, starch-based, gelled or set pudding products are a most favored dessert item, whether consumed in pudding form as such or as the filling portion of a pie, tart or other like product.
Conventional pudding preparation by the consumer generally involves cooking (boiling) a mixture of starch, sugar and water or milk-based ingredients, together with flavorings, colorants or other additives peculiar to the particular pudding product. These ingredients can be individually obtained and used by the consumer or, as is often the case, some or all of the dry ingredients are available in packaged, dry pre-mixed form. During the cooking process, the starch granules undergo progressively increasing stages of water absorption, swelling and loss of birefringence, along with leaching out of the soluble portions of the starch. The aqueous mixture increases greatly in viscosity and, upon cooling, sets to a relatively firm gel structure having a characteristic smooth yet firm texture and non-gummy mouthfeel.
In order to meet increasing demands of consumer convenience, food manufacturers have sought to provide pudding compositions or products which involve a minimum of preparation time and effort. As noted earlier, one of the first efforts in this regard was the provision of a packaged pre-mix of pudding ingredients such as starch, sugar, colorants, flavorants and the like which required only that the consumer mix the package contents with milk or water and then proceed through the conventional cooking and cooling steps for preparation of a pudding.
Another effort in the provision of convenience puddings involved development of pudding compositions which did not require cooking in order to develop a gel-like texture. These "instant" pudding products generally rely upon starch only as a thickening agent to simulate the texture of cooked starch puddings. Establishment of the desired gel-like texture typically is achieved through use of an independent gelation system based upon interaction of hydrated milk proteins and alkali metal (e.g., calcium) pyrophosphates, orthophosphates and the like. In such products, the consumer need only add cold or room temperature milk or water to the contents of a packaged pre-mix of starch thickener, sugar, gelatin agents, milk proteins (where water alone is the hydrating agent to be added), flavorants, colorants, and the like, mix the ingredients and refrigerate. More recently, cold water-gellable starches have been developed which yield gel-like puddings without need for an independent gelation system.
It has been recognized that perhaps the ultimate in convenience pudding products would be the provision of a pre-prepared pudding per se. A product of this type has the advantage of not requiring any consumer preparation and opens up new vistas of increased pudding consumption in terms of snack items, lunchbox items and the like. Additionally, at least in theory, pudding products of this type would be more nearly akin to traditional cooked puddings in terms of texture and mouthfeel than has been attained to date with instant puddings since their preparation by the manufacturer would involve cooking and other steps, albeit on a lrge scale, similar to those employed by the consumer making a homemade pudding.
As is equally apparent, however, provision of a complete consumer pudding product intended to be purchased and consumed some time after manufacturer preparation and packaging necessarily involves concerns with shelf-stability, both in terms of long-term stability against changes in product characteristics but also, of course, stability against microbial contamination. To some degree these concerns can be eliminated by providing the product in a frozen (to-be-thawed) or refrigerated form, but this in turn limits the convenience of the product and increases costs of the manufacturer's preparation, shipping and storage.